Not long thereafter, he realized that “because of its anatomical and physiological features, the heart can only function actively when it is transplanted into the thorax. He transplanted a heart into the inguinal region of a dog. Upon his graduation from the University of Moscow in 1940, Demikhov began working there as an assistant in the Department of Physiology. At that moment, he vowed to undertake activities that were more terrestrial. One of them finally managed to catch his breath and ask, “How was it in the sky?” Thus ended his short-term passion for airplanes. When the disoriented Demikhov clambered out, his friends, all gasping for air, surrounded him. The glider took off, and it flew for a couple of minutes at about 2 meters above the field before it hit the ground and flipped over. A rumbling truck dragged his glider across a field as his friends ran behind. He studied gliding and even took a flight, the recollection of which made him smile. Young men of that time dreamed about aviation, and Demikhov was no exception. He was young, and full of energy, enthusiasm, and new ideas. The pioneering nature and practical implications of this innovation were not appreciated, and yet Demikhov was not overly troubled. Implantation of an artificial heart had appeared to be impossible. His experiments were the first ever in which circulation was maintained in an animal whose heart had been excised. Although it was too large to be installed inside the chest of a dog (the primary animal upon which Demikhov experimented), it could take over cardiac function for approximately 5 hours. In 1937, Demikhov designed the first mechanical cardiac-assist device. Education, Enthusiasm, and Early Experiments
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |